Britain and the Blitz

Britain an the Blitz (BatB) is not your "ordinary" war documentary - it does not focus on; strategic decisions, frontline fighting action or the ongoings in the minds of people on the battlefield. Rather it focuses on the social and fatiguing aspects of life during wartime. It does so pretty well.

BatB covers, as the title implies, the period of the most severe bombing of Britain during the Second World War - from the 7th of September 1940 to the 11th of May 1941.

We are let into the world of some those affected by the relentless bombing of indiscriminate targets. Civilians as well as military, women as well as men, children as well as adults. The whole documentary is in colour which arguably adds to the sense of "being there".

BatB offers no insights into the rationale of "this type of warfare" - it does however offer a few compassionate glimpses into the world of those affected. In so doing it offers a different kind of insight into the effects of war and tells a story that, arguably, should be told more often.

"Britain and the Blitz" unfortunately falters in its execution. A significant drawback is the pervasive use of artificial intelligence in the visuals, which often creates an uncanny and ultimately soul-less viewing experience. The storytelling also feels disjointed for the majority of the series, jumping between events without the anchoring presence of traditional sit-down interviews. It's not until the very end that we see individuals being interviewed, a missed opportunity to weave those crucial human perspectives throughout and create a stronger connection. While the colorized historical footage offers a visually interesting element, it's not enough to overcome the distracting AI and the scattered narrative. Ultimately, "Britain and the Blitz" presents an interesting subject but falls short in its delivery, making it a less impactful watch.

Suppose you're an alien tuning into this documentary out of interest in WWII. What would you learn? A bit about the romantic entanglements of two girls, the story of a young firefighter, a refugee child's trauma, and a scattering of personal anecdotes (with a malicious attack on Churchill, in line with N. Policies), none of which framed within any broader historical context.

I get that this may stir emotions among the British audience, but as a foreigner genuinely curious about life in England during the Blitz, I came away with almost nothing - except that Joan found Rupert irresistible, they had a fling, the Army called him up, and she moved on to greener pastures before publishing a memoir 40 years later.

To be fair, the other girl's story with her pilot fiancé was slightly more focused on the events. But in true Netflix fashion, the documentary goes almost out of its way to avoid any mention of the RAF, the pilots who died, or indeed any white adult male who played a role in the Blitz. Apparently, the entire experience belonged to girls, children, and the occasional teenager.

Overall a big incoherent potpourri:

Some half-assed love stories, some repetitions of material, choice of footage often questionable, lots seems staged footage, no real structure.

And unlike the superb "The World at War" they had to focus one just one single topic, how can you fail so miserably in telling this story and make it look like an occasional accident?

Had that been on Youtube, I probably would have stopped and switched - well, it was netflix and you keep hoping that it will get better. Alas, it didn't.

Still, the restoration is well done. As for the plot (sic!) you'd rather turn on the radio.

PS: Speaking of restoration , have a look, you'll find a lot of restorated and enhanced footage on youtube.

The movie seems to have been edited by throwing film clips up in the air and allowed to fall to the floor where they were randomly picked up and spliced together. It is all arbitrary with very little detail given on how it all fits together. It is as if the makers of the film never researched the actual Blitz. The only worthy thing of praise was the colorization. A good job was done on that.

It's not enough to show a series of film clips without sufficient narration on how it all fits together. The viewer is left to fill in the blanks with conjecture often times without knowledge of what how everything took place. A documentary should inform, not confuse.